Students taking Project Lead the Way Engineering courses at Savio have the opportunity earn college credit.  Each student in an engineering course is required to take the Project Lead the Way End-of-Course (EOC) Exam in May.  This exam is administered in 2 parts over a period of 90 minutes.  Part 1 is a 40-question multiple choice exam administered online through the PLTW testing system.  Part 2 is a written exam and consists of free-response questions.

In order to have the opportunity to earn college credit, students must have a combined score of 70% or higher on their End-of-Course exam AND a final course average (S1 & S2 average) of 85 (B) or better.  At Savio, many of our students’ scores qualify them to receive credit.  In our first year as a PLTW certified school (2010-2011), 75% of the engineering students at Savio qualified for college credit.

For ALL PLTW Students wishing to receive college credit (regardless of test scores)

Students in all Engineering courses at Savio are required to keep a Course Portfolio and an Engineering Notebook.  After 4 years in the program, the student will have compiled an impressive body of work. Regardless of whether or not a student passes the end-of-course exam, students should leave with a great sense of accomplishment, having completed projects that many of their peers will only begin to work on at the college level.  We suggest that student portfolios and engineering notebooks from any PLTW course at Savio be archived in a safe place in the event that a student wishes to present their work to a university engineering department.  Many PLTW students have awarded credit from non-affiliated universities based on the strength of their portfolios alone.

For students who have scored 70% or above on their EOC AND have an 85 (B) in the class

Project Lead the Way has partnered with over 100 universities across the country.  There are numerous ways universities offer credit for PLTW courses, but as a rule of thumb, most require a 70% or above on the End-of-Course Exam AND an 85 (B) or better in the class.  St. Dominic Savio will assist students in applying for transcripted credit at Rochester Institute of Technology (see below), but students may choose to explore other options on their own through the PLTW website.

There are 3 different ways PLTW partner universities recognize PLTW course work.

College-Level Recognition Partner: These institutions allow students to earn college credit for PLTW courses.
Scholarship Partner: These institutions allow scholarship opportunities to PLTW students.
Admissions Preference Partner: These institutions award preference to PLTW students seeking admission.
(For more information on the types of partnerships, click here)

FOR A LIST OF PLTW PARTNER UNIVERSITIES AND THEIR PLTW-RELATED WEBSITES, click here.

Applying for credit through RIT (RIT PLTW Website)

Savio will assist any student who chooses to apply for credit through Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).  You MUST apply for credit for any class taken in the 2010-2011 school  year by Nov. 15, 2011 (disregard the date of Dec. 31st on the RIT website).  The cost for registration is $200.  Please view the RIT PLTW website here.

• Students earning an 85% grade or higher in Introduction to Engineering Design (Design & Drawing for Production in NY), Digital Electronics, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Principles of Engineering, or Civil Engineering and Architecture, and scoring 70% or higher on the year-end exam may register for RIT credit.
• The decision to apply for college credit can be made after the exam has been taken and scored. The college credit portion of the exam is administered by the student’s teacher as part of the final course exam. The RIT college credit grade is based solely on the combined scores of Part A and Part C of the final exam and not on the course grade. Therefore, the grade a student receives in the high school course may differ from the college credit grade. We urge the teachers to let the students know their college credit scores so they can make an informed decision. If a student subsequently attends RIT, the college credit grade would be counted towards his/her overall grade point average. If a student attends another university, the course credits often can be transferred without the letter grade.
• Important: Any student who successfully takes a course in the current academic year must take the exam at the end of the course and register for college credit before Nov. 15, 2011. (This date is earlier than in previous years).
• The total tuition charge for each course is $200. RIT is on the quarter system so each course is worth four quarter-credits. At semester schools, each course would equal approximately three semester credits.
• RIT will send the student a grade report at the end of the quarter in which he/she registers (NOTE: the IED/DDP course will be listed on the grade report as Solid Modeling). Students who apply to colleges other than RIT may request, at no cost, that a transcript be sent to those schools by completing a Transcript Request Form.
• Note: All colleges and universities across the country establish their own policies for accepting transfer credits. Most RIT colleges should be able to accept a minimum of three of the PLTW courses, most likely as ‘free electives’.

Download the RIT Registration Form found here.  Submit the registration form and a check to RIT.  There is NO need to include grades with the registration form; Savio submits the students’ test and class grades to RIT.

Note:  There are many ways to apply for credit and each partner university might do things a little differently than the next.  Please check also with the universities that the student may wish to attend to see how that university will accept credit from a PLTW partner institution.

If you have questions about college credit, please contact our Director of Admission and Guidance, Mr. Brian Motto at bmotto@saviochs.org.
For questions regarding Savio’s engineering courses, testing or any general Project Lead the Way questions, please contact the Engineering/Technology Department Chair, Ms. Sarah Saniuk at ssaniuk@saviochs.org.